OCTATRIX TM - strategy game apparatus and method of play
An octahedron-shaped game structure is disclosed for playing a three-dimensional strategy game. A plurality of cubes is introduced to configure the shape of octahedron and two sets of game pieces are provided. The preferred embodiment of the game structure has an arrangement of 11 tiers. The present invention is a game for two players and each player has a king, four rooks, four bishops, four knights, and twelve pawns. Contrasting coloration is used for the game structure and game pieces. It defines two different terrains and two different armies. A method of playing the game is also disclosed, including rules for movement of the game pieces on the game structure. The goal of the present game is to capture the opponent's king, however game can be also ultimately won if a pawn advances all the way to the opponent's pinnacle. The pinnacle is the last surface of each army's terrain.
Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable.
REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIXNot Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to three-dimensional chess-like strategy game, and more particularly to a game apparatus and a method of play.
Chess is a game of strategy. It has been in existence for over thousands of years. The rules of the games have varied with time and region, but a set of standardized rules has evolved for the game of chess, as we know it today. Since the standardization of chess, a significant amount of variation is introduced into the conventional chess game. One such variation of the game is a three-dimensional chess.
Since the first introduction of three-dimensional chess, many modification and changes of the game board have been developed. Different rules and variations of the game pieces have also been proposed. Nevertheless, none of the prior art games has achieved widespread acceptance, or caught up to the popularity of standard two-dimensional chess. Part of the reason for this is that all of the prior art games have had one or more drawbacks that detract from the original reason for adding a third dimension to make the game more fun and exciting.
Three-dimensional chess and other board games have been developed in the prior art wherein boards are vertically aligned one above the other with the game pieces are moved in straight lines on a board as well as between boards. The prior art three-dimensional chess games have been unsuccessful because conventional thinking has led to the forms of three-dimensional chess disclosed in the foregoing patents being played much like two-dimensional chess.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,877,154 issued to Weaver on Sep. 13, 1932 discloses having a game board comprised of two vertically spaced-apart layer members. U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,285 issued to Kane on Aug. 15, 1972 discloses having a game board comprised of four vertically spaced-apart layer members. U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,201 issued to Harper et al. on Oct. 23, 1973 discloses a multi-level game board structure for three-dimensional chess and check games. U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,471 issued to Brennan on Feb. 10, 1976 discloses using two 8 times 8 game boards stacked one over the other, as well as additional chess pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,027 issued to Escamilla-Kelly on Sept. 7, 1982 discloses Multi-level game board apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,157 issued to Riihiluoma et al. on May 22, 1990 discloses a chess-like board game apparatus and method of playing the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,056 issued to Ching on May 12, 1992 discloses Method of playing a three dimensional pyramidal-chess game. U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,419 issued to Craig on Jan. 11, 1994 discloses a three-layer three-dimensional game board system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,040 issued to Cutler on Aug. 16, 1994 discloses a three-dimensional chess game which is played on a four by four by four cubic chessboard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,099 issued to Mardirosian on Sept. 17, 1996 discloses a three-dimensional chess game having multiple tiers with role-static pieces and role-altering pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,819 issued to Underwood on Oct. 21, 1997 discloses a three-dimensional strategy game having three tier game boards with a grid pattern. U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,880 issued to Cooper on Oct. 27, 1998 discloses a multi-level chess game with additional chess pieces.
The problem of the prior art three-dimensional chess games is that they attempt to extend two-dimensional game piece movement into three dimensions where the actual three-dimensional game structure does not exist. Many of the prior art three-dimensional chess games did not successfully extend the chess game into three dimensions. They are still very much like planar games with separated multiple levels that pieces can move between the tiers.
Even though the prior art's innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be comparable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn octahedron-shaped game structure is introduced to overcome the problems of the prior arts. In the prior arts, game pieces move in straight lines on two-dimensional chessboard. In order to play the three-dimensional strategy game, the game surfaces must have equal extensity in all three dimensions so that game pieces can have the same degree of movement in three-dimensional direction. A plurality of cubes is introduced to configure the shape of octahedron. By these cubic surfaces, the game pieces can move in the vertical surfaces the same way that they can in the horizontal surfaces. These aspects are what makes the game fully three-dimensional, rather than just a planar game on multiple levels.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide the game apparatus comprising a three-dimensional game structure and game pieces can be played in three-dimensional manner. Another objective of the present invention is to provide such a strategy game which may be mastered quickly and easily by one who knows the basic rules of conventional chess.
Before explaining preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGThe present invention will be more fully understood by studying the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
40a—Red Pawn 40b—Blue Pawn
42a—Red Knight 42b—Blue Knight
44a—Red Bishop 44b—Blue Bishop
46a—Red Rook 46b—Blue Rook
48a—Red King 48b—Blue King
50—Game structure (Electronic simulation version)
52a—Red Terrain 60—Cross-dimensional movement
52b—Blue Terrain 62—Adjacent surface
54a—No Red Knight zone 64—Occupied surface
54b—No Blue Knight zone 66—Blocked surface
56a—Red Pinnacle
56b—Blue Pinnacle
70—Game structure (Physical configuration version)
71a—Red Terrain First Tier 71b—Blue Terrain First Tier
72a—Red Terrain Second Tier 72b—Blue Terrain Second Tier
73a—Red Terrain Third Tier 73b—Blue Terrain Third Tier
74a—Red Terrain Fourth Tier 74b—Blue Terrain Fourth Tier
75a—Red Terrain Fifth Tier 75b—Blue Terrain Fifth Tier
76—Center Tier 77—Female thread (Typical)
78—Male thread (Typical) 79—Optional game stand
79a—Connecting rod 79b—Base
79c—Base cover
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to
The game pieces for the present invention are shown in
The goal of the present strategy game is to capture the opponent's king, however game can be also ultimately won if a pawn advances all the way to the opponent's pinnacle (56a or 56b). The pinnacle (56a or 56b) is the last surface of each army's terrain (52a or 52b). If the king is in check and threatened with attack, it must get out of check immediately. If there is no way to get out of check, the position is checkmate, and the player that is checkmated loses. These combinations result in a more complex and unpredictable strategy game with many more strategic permutations possible than in conventional chess. In this specification a game structure is sometimes called a “structure”, a game piece is sometimes called a “piece”, and a game surface is sometimes called a “surface”.
The player with the Red army moves one of his or her game pieces first, and then each player must take a turn moving their pieces one at a time using the rules for game piece movement described below. The player may not move a piece to a surface already blocked or occupied by one of his or her own pieces. But the player can capture an opponent piece that blocked on a surface where one of his or her own pieces can move onto that surface. The captured piece plays no further role in the game and is removed from the game structure.
The game surfaces of the Game structure 50 are essential to the present invention. Certain game pieces may be blocked from movement by the presence of other pieces, either of the same color or the opponent's color. The surface where the game piece is positioned is called “Blocked surface 66”. The four surfaces adjacent to “Blocked surface 66” are called “Adjacent surface 62”. Among “Adjacent surface 62”, the surfaces are immediately occupied by “Blocked surface 66” is particularly called “Occupied surface 64”.
It is to be realized that a great many variations are possible to the game structure and the game rules which are presented as alternate embodiments of the invention. One possible variation of the game structure is that additional tiers can be added or subtracted for more complex or simpler game. Additional game pieces can be added or reduced accordingly. Another possible variation is multiple game structures for multiple players. Several game structures can be added and joined together for the additional players. Other types of polyhedron can be introduced to configure an octahedron-shaped game structure. It should be understood that many of the preferred moves of the game pieces may be altered in some fashion, without departing from the spirit of the invention.
While the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be clearly understood that this is intended by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation. Persons skilled in the art will readily see that a great many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Claims
1. A apparatus for playing a three-dimensional strategy game, comprising:
- a game structure having a plurality of polyhedron-shaped game surfaces, and
- a plurality of attachable game pieces mounted on said polyhedron-shaped game surfaces,
- whereby said game pieces can perform three-dimensional advancing and capturing movements on said game structure.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said game structure is an octahedron-shaped configuration.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron-shaped game surfaces are cubes.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said game structure is colored.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron-shaped game surfaces have female threads.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said attachable game pieces have male threads.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said attachable game pieces are at least a king, a rook, a bishop, a knight, and a pawn.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said attachable game pieces are divided into two sets by contrasting colorations.
9. A method of playing a three-dimensional strategy game, comprising:
- providing a game structure having a plurality of polyhedron-shaped game surfaces,
- providing a plurality of attachable game pieces mounted on said polyhedron-shaped game surfaces, and
- providing a game method for said three-dimensional strategy game,
- whereby said game pieces can perform three-dimensional advancing and capturing movements on said game structure.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein said game structure is an octahedron-shaped configuration.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein said polyhedron-shaped game surfaces are cubes.
12. The method of claim 9 wherein said game structure is colored.
13. The method of claim 9 wherein said attachable game pieces are at least a king, a rook, a bishop, a knight, and a pawn.
14. The method of claim 9 wherein said attachable game pieces are divided into two sets by contrasting colorations.
15. The method of claim 9 wherein said three-dimensional strategy game is an electronic simulation.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 26, 2004
Publication Date: Dec 29, 2005
Patent Grant number: 7114723
Inventor: Alexander Park (Plano, TX)
Application Number: 10/877,014